


Beloved

by Queen_OT_Clouds



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, I can't fucking TAG, M/M, My obsession with their eyes, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, courting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_OT_Clouds/pseuds/Queen_OT_Clouds
Summary: Arthur met a Tony Stark on a beach in Malibu, this is their love story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been officially sucked into this ship and I aspire to add more to this tiny fandom.

_ Arthur _

Arthur didn’t know what had drawn him to this creature. His beloved. It started years ago, on a beach in Malibu. He was merely swimming the coastline of California when he saw him. A small man, with chocolate colored hair and eyes the shade of whiskey. The man had decided that a goatee worked best with his face, and in Arthur’s opinion-- along with the majority of the world --it looked good. The man was sat quietly, staring out into the blue, a disconnected, foggy look in his eyes. His sad, sad eyes that had seen horrors a person could never think of. Arthur was immediately drawn to them. Those pools of light, deeper than the Mariana herself, and at the bottom holding secrets and riches that Arthur was desperate to have. 

This attraction came out of the blue. Arthur had only ever wanted someone as deeply as he wanted the man only a few times in his life. But none of them could ever compare to the love he felt for the man on the beach. So he watched the man, day in and day out. How he would come down to the shore and sit on the sand, his arms across his knees and stare out into the blue. And when he left, he would go up to that big mansion on the rocks only to repeat the pattern again the next day. 

Arthur watched him do this and each day, he would come closer and closer to the shore, getting better looks at the man while he was at it. He admired the man, how his small build was powerful, yet worn down. Like the world rested on his shoulders. And maybe it did, Arthur did not know anything about this man, other than what he looked like. He did not know what burdens he had to carry, what things he had done. All Arthur knew, was that he was a sad man, with beautiful whiskey eyes, and he wanted to help him. 

One day, something possessed him to leave a something for the man. What he would later learn to be a courting gift. He watched from the rocks as the man came down from his home and sat in sand, the same spot where he always sat, and picked up the gift. A large conch shell that he had found during his exploration of the sea floor. It was a lovely burgundy color, with streaks of white cutting through. The man surveyed the shell, twisting it this way and that, before he held it up to one ear and listened. Humans said that you could hear the ocean in the shells, like they were calling out for their home under the crashing waves. Arthur watched as the man listened, and felt his heart stop when he smiled. It was nothing grandiose, but it was enough to know that Arthur was helping him, even if the man didn’t knew it.

Day after day, Arthur would leave gifts of the sea for the man. Each day, he would pick up the gifts and smile at them before cradling them to his chest.each day his eyes would get brighter and brighter, shining with happiness that Arthur was determined to keep there. One day, the sun had barely risen when Arthur had placed a gift in the sand. It was a miniature version of his father's lighthouse. He had carved it himself, spending hours a day memorizing the building and getting and every detail down until it was perfect. He had turned to look up at the mansion on the hill, but his vision was blocked by the man. The man with the small (perfect) body and the foggy, whiskey colored eyes.  

“So you’ve been leaving me gifts.” 

The first time Arthur heard his voice, he knew he wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life listening to it. At first, Arthur didn’t respond for a few minutes, simply admiring the man up close. His jaw was sharp to the point where it could cut glass, and his cheeks were full and round, the kind that his father would squeeze and coo at. He was far shorter than Arthur had thought, his eyes only reaching the bottom of his pectorals. But, the most breathtaking part of the man was his eyes. Now up close, Arthur could see the flecks of hazel and gold in the brown irises. His eyes shined with unspoken happiness, but at what Arthur was not sure yet. The only thing that Arthur knew was that he was completely and utterly _ captivated _ .


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, she back. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

_ Tony  _

 

The man standing before Tony, was what many would call an Adonis. A virtual mountain, packed with muscle and fish scale tattoos. He had a scruffy beard and brown hair that hung down to his shoulders. But his eyes, those beautiful otherworldly things. They were an icy blue, with flecks of gold and seafoam green. Tony felt as though he could stare at them for forever and never get bored.

The man shifted and Tony became acutely aware of his height. Tony’s neck was craning just to look the man in the eye. On most occasions, Tony would hate the fact that he was so small but in this particular instance he couldn’t bring up that sense of irritation. Instead he felt a strange sense of contentment at the fact that this man could protect him if necessary. Since Afghanistan, Tony had felt constantly on edge, phantom pain running rampant through his body. But, with his man, he felt it all wash away and lost himself in the man's eyes. 

Time seemed to stop as they stared at each other, neither saying a word, or moving a muscle. Tony was sure he wasn’t even breathing. The call of a seagal broke them from their reviere and Tony watched as the man glared at the white birds, who circled above the beach. The man turned back to Tony, and his eyes softened immediately. He raised one hand up as if he wanted to touch his face, but thought better of it and let it drop to his side once more. 

“Who are you?” Tony asked, just realizing that the man was trespassing on private property.  _ His _ private property. 

“Arthur Curry, and you?” The man’s voice like velvet and dark chocolate that sent pleasurable shivers down Tony’s spine. No man should have the kind of voice to enact this kind of reaction out of him. Howard would be so disappointed. 

“Tony Stark.” 

The man’s eyes widened before narrowing and scrutinizing him. Tony felt the need to squirm under his harsh glare, but held himself firm and allowed the man to pursue his body. Wording it like that made his cheeks heat up something fierce and he fought with himself to keep the blush down. But, based off of the smirk on the man --  _ Arthur’s _ \-- face, he had failed. Pitifully.

“I know you, don’t know why I didn’t realize it before. You’re the Ironman right?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. His wide, barrel-like chest that Tony wouldn’t mind being crushed by, good  _ God _ . 

“Correct.” Tony said stiffly, pushing back the feelings of attraction to the virtual god in front of him. Now was not the time to imagine what it felt like to be caged in those arms, to run his hands over his chiseled torso, to feel those hands hold down his wrists, to feel that beard scrape between his legs-- stop! 

“Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you.” Arthur said with a bow. He looked up at Tony through his lashes (that look should be illegal) and cockly said, “though I think Iron Man is overrated.” 

Tony’s eyes widened and he sputtered, affronted, “excuse me?!”  

“No offense,” The mountain shrugged. “You have no super powers and up close you’re pretty tiny and not very intimidating. I mean, I can understand when you’re in the full iron suit, but otherwise, you’re pretty adorable.” 

“Offense taken! Who do you thin-” 

“Tony!” The sound of Pepper’s voice from of the mansion cut Tony off mid-sentence. She was looking around the back patio and had yet to see them. Tony realized what an odd sight the pair of them were, and turned back around to warn Arthur to hide. He was thrown for a loop when he saw Arthur already had half of his body submerged in the ocean, and was slowly backing away from the shore. 

Tony also noticed the small lighthouse that Arthur had been placing down before he had confronted him, was in his hands. Tony didn’t have the time to admire how well crafted it was, because Arthur was now submerged up to his neck and didn’t seem to be stop anytime soon. 

“Where are you going? Do you want to drown?” Tony called out, taking a hesitant step towards the waves lapping at the shore. 

“I’m going home!” Arthur called back, stopping his descent into the deep blue, to continue his conversation with Tony. 

“What? Are you going to swim there?” 

“Precisely.” Tony scoffed at the absurdity of the idea that Arthur was going to  _ swim _ home and stepped forward once more to allow the waves to lap at his bare feet. 

“Are you coming back?” 

“Most likely.” 

“And what’s this for?” Tony held up the lighthouse. 

“So that you can find me!” Arthur smiled and dove under the water. Tony watched the waves for a full minute and when he didn’t see Arthur pop back up he began to panic. Did the man actually drown himself? Tony’s eyes began to flash from wave to wave, trying to find any possible sign of the man. He placed a hand on his heart, and felt faint when he saw Arthur’s head above the water and one arm up to wave at him. Tony waved back, cradling the lighthouse to his stomach. Arthur dove back under the waves and popped back up in a beautiful arc, not unlike the actions of a dolphin. Before he went back under and didn’t appear again. 

“Tony!” Pepper came running down the beach, her heels held in one hand. “What are you doing down here?” 

Tony turned back to the ocean and said, “just… thinking.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave you ideas in the comments and give me kudos. I seek validation. 
> 
> Come bother me on My Tumblr: https://queen-ot-clouds.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nervous laughter* Hi...? Ummmm, so like I'm sooooooo sorry that I dipped for a few months. But now that I'm back in the school groove and I got my shit together I'm finding the inspiration to write again! 
> 
> I hope you like this chapter (It's extra long to make up for lost time) and I'll try to update more frequently. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Tony _

 

It had been months since Tony had seen Arthur last and he felt a strange sense of emptiness because of it. He didn’t know where the feeling had come from, seeing as he had only had seen the man once and had a rather strange conversation with him, before the man had dipped under the waves and never resurfaced on his Malibu beach again. The lighthouse that Arthur had given him had put up shop on his nightstand, it's silhouette again the starry night being the last thing he saw everyday. 

After the day of their fateful meeting, Tony had Jarvis run an image scan on the lighthouse, and had come up on a location in upper Maine. An old man had been living there for so long that the townspeople couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t inhabit the lighthouse. Tony supposed that the man could be Arthur’s father, but he looked nothing like the man he had met a few months ago. Tony could say that was due to age than anything else really. 

While Tony knew  where Arthur lived, he could never bring up the courage to actually go and visit him. 

There was this constantly nagging sensation in the back of his head that told him that it wasn’t the right time. That if he went, he would find nothing, but an old man with no answers who stood at the end of a dock and wait for a woman who would never return to him.

 So Tony stayed put for as long as possible. He returned to New York when the Avengers needed to be assembled for Loki’s attack, and went right back to his Malibu retreat a few days when they were done. The UN had been placated, Loki was back on Asgard and clean up efforts had begun. 

Even after the attack, Tony didn’t see hair or hind of the tall man that plagued his thoughts. The only thing that let Tony know that Arthur was still alive, were the gifts- though sparse now -that were left behind on the beach. Tony eventually ran out of room on his dresser and nightstands, so he installed a rather large shelving unit to hold all of his gifts from the sea. There was one gift, though, that didn’t find a place on a shelf, instead it rested between his pectorals. 

A necklace. 

From the golden chain, hung a trident with three prongs and at the end of each prong were stones blue as the Caribbean sea, blue as Arthur’s eyes. The necklace came in a simple wooden box, with a note written in Arthur’s absolutely  _ horrible _ chicken scratch.

 

_ Tony, _ the note read.

_ I’m so sorry that I’ve been gone for so long when I promised to meet you again soon. A certain, uh, _ matter _ has come up and is taking literally ALL my time. Do not fret my beloved, you will be seeing this face someday soon, I know you miss it so.  _

_ Ciao, _

_ Arthur <3 _

 

Tony didn’t know whether to feel charmed or offended by the cockiness and blatant forwardness of the note, but a fond feeling welled up in his chest and made him feel warm for the rest of the day. 

 

~~~

 

It was late summer when Tony finally managed to pull himself together and go to the Maine lighthouse. The trip from Malibu to Maine was a stressful one and only the constant feel of the trident between his fidgeting fingers kept him grounded. 

Once he had finally reached the lighthouse, after an hour long drive from the airport to the small town it was located in, he raised a hesitant hand to knock before dropping it. He repeated the process three more times before the door opened on his fourth hand raise and he was met with a beautiful woman. She had the kind of ageless beauty that most women searched for their entire lives and never found. If Tony was honest, he would totally go for her, but his heart was being led in another direction. 

“Uh-- I, um, I-I I’m looking for Arthur?” Tony had never stuttered over a statement, that came out a question, in his life. HIs face flushed a brilliant red, and he looked away, ashamed of his nervousness. She raised a single eyebrow and offered a kind smile, before letting him into the house.

The interior of the lighthouse was rather homey. Nothing like the extravagance that Tony was used to living, but something that he could definitely get used to. There were photos on the wall and shoes stacked in a corner and coats hung up on a rack and a fishing pole resting on the wall next to a tackle box and the whole place just felt so lived in. It felt loved.    

The woman led him into a living room and whispered something in the ear of the old man that Jarvis had identified as the lighthouse keeper, before heading into a small kitchen area, probably to prepare him something to drink. 

“My name is Thomas Curry and my wife is Atlanna, I hear you’re looking for our son?” The old man introduced. The ageless woman- Atlanna -made a reappearance and passed out mugs of hot cocoa. Tony graciously took his, thanked the woman, and after one sip nearly moaned,  _ Lord _ it was good. She curled up under Thomas’ arm and threw a blanket over the two of them, shifting until she was comfortably tucked into her husband’s side. Thomas gave her a fond, loving look and curled his arm tighter around her, drawing her in to kiss her temple, and Tony’s heart ached to have that kind of closeness with someone. And if a certain mountain man came to mind he didn’t mention it.

“Um, yes, would you happen to know where he is right now?” He asked, thumbs drumming restlessly on the rim of the mug. 

“Arthur isn’t home yet, but he will be soon.” Atlanna responded, her blue eyes practically glowing in the fading sunlight and the billionaire realized who Arthur got his god-like eyes from. 

Tony nodded and raised a hand to fiddle with the trident around his neck, pressing his thumb into the sharp points to keep himself busy. The couple on the couch muttered soft things to each other and laughed quietly at their own little jokes. Their love so palpable it was almost made Tony want to cry. 

The clunk of heavy footsteps made Tony whip around to stare at the door, hoping beyond hope that it would be his mountain man that walked in. The door opened slowly and the gruff voice of Arthur came through “Mom, Pop I’m ho-”

Arthur’s sentence cut off as soon as he and Tony made eye contact and the billionaire took his fill of the man that he desperately wanted to call his own. The man was completely drenched in water, like he had gone swimming and forgotten to bring a towel. In his right hand was the identical trident to Tony’s own and it sparkled from the water droplets that still clung to it. Tony’s eyes moved away from the pointy object and took in what Arthur was wearing and--

  
“What are you  _ wearing _ ?!” “What are you doing  _ here _ ?!”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I hope you guys liked that! 
> 
> You can find me at my Tumblr @queen-ot-clouds


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